2nd Place – Brennan O’Keefe, Lincroft Elementary School, Lincroft, NJ

The Hiking Trip

There were two boys, named Nick and Brennan. Nick was 19 and Brennan was 15. They asked their parents if they could go hiking. Their moms agreed, Nick drove to the Paterson Gimlin Forest in California. They got to the forest and took their tent, cooler and flashlight out of the trunk.

Then they disappeared into the forest. They looked for flat land to set up their tent because the sun was going down. Brennan found flat land and they set up their tent. Nick said, “Let’s go hiking before it gets dark.”

On the way, they didn’t hear or see anything. On the was back, they saw a black, hairy, ten-foot bear – it was BIG FOOT!

They ran back to their tent and they got back safely. They got a picture of it so they could show their parents. They slept fine. They were really scared that morning, so they left. Nick drove them back home. They showed their parents the picture and they screamed.

They said, “You are never going in those woods by yourself, again! We were worried you would get attacked by one of those things!”

Adventures of Nicky Fifth & T-Bone

The adventures of Nicky and T-Bone show why Pine Hill is a perfect place to visit. The boys were visiting nearby Clementon Park, which was founded in 1907 by Theodore Gibbs. The park had attractions that included a theater, dancing casino, roller coaster, steam carousel, and a Razzle Dazzle ride. Clementon Park is on Clementon Avenue, and the boys heard the cheerful screams all around. Nicky and T-Bone went on the Torpedo Rush ride. Next was the water ride that stands at a sky-scraping 60 feet tall. They climbed into the launch capsule to count down to the most thrilling water slide. They rode the safari train that had a unique mystery and the magic of an African desert. Nicky could smell hot, steamy food, and his stomach tarted to growl.

“Should we get something to eat?” Nicky asked T-Bone.

“Sure,” said T-Bone as they walked up to the counter and ordered their food. Nicky ordered a hot dog, T-Bone ordered a burger, and they both ordered lemonade.

They were stuffed after eating their food and as soon as they finished their drinks, they left Clementon Park with a buttery popcorn and a cotton candy. They were talking about how much fun they were having and decided to visit the oldest structure in Pine Hill, the Tomlinson House, just up the road from
the park.

The Tomlinson House was built in 1790 by the Tomlinson brothers, and an addition was added in 1844. The house stands on Blackwood-Clementon Road. The cooking supplies they used in the 1800s were bizarre! By the way, in my opinion, if you look at 1800s clothing it looked terribly uncomfortable. It looked like all the women were getting squeezed to death, and the men wore big hats like Abraham Lincoln wore. Nicky whispered to T-Bone, “What do they store in their hats? Nuts?” T-Bone quietly laughed and moved around the historic house. They learned a lot about Clementon Park and Pine Hill’s Tomlinson House, and the adventurous boys realized Pine Hill, New Jersey was a great place to visit.

*Note to readers: While the town of Pine Hill, New Jersey and Clementon Park welcome Nicky Fifth readers, the Tomlinson House is currently not open to visitors.

2nd Place Anna Salvatore, Toll Gate Elementary School, Pennington, NJ

The Last Day of School

I’m sitting at my desk, waiting. My eyes are fixed on the slowly moving hands of the clock. The teacher has been talking, but today I will not listen. Today is the last day of school. My desk will soon be empty, the halls will soon be filled with happy kids running, but I’m not listening to the never-ending drone of the teacher. Instead, I must sit on my old, small, blue chair, hearing the principal’s high heels coming down the hallway. Click, clack, click, clack. Now I know that she is doing her routine rounds.

Everyone around me is fidgeting in excitement. I can barely sit still. The clock is like our king and we are like servants in its kingdom. When the summer bell rings, we are set free from our spell and released into summer. It has been a year since I have tasted summer, and I hope it is worth a school year. The bell is ringing, and it is now my favorite sound. Here comes vacation!

Nicky’s Pine Hill Adventure

It was just like any other boring old night for Nicky because he just got back from another day trip. As soon as they got home, Nicky and T-Bone went inside to Nicky’s messy bedroom and went to sleep. The next morning, after they ate breakfast, Nicky’s mom told them they would be going to Pine Hill. “You have to be kidding me. Who would ever want to go to Pine Hill? I bet it’s not even that great,” said Nicky. Nicky’s mom had said that they would be at the Tomlinson House all day long. After that, Nicky’s mom told them that it was built in 1834 and it’s a museum. They left at 8:00 in the morning, and they were on their way. When they arrived, they asked some of the local residents about the Tomlinson House. The residents said they loved it, so it was clear that they would go. When they went to look at the Tomlinson House, they saw a sign that said Now Open To the Public on it. They walked up the creaky old stairs, went inside, and saw many things. They went upstairs to see all of the old bedrooms and walked around the house. When it was 2:00 pm, they left for the day. They didn’t get home until 8:00 pm because they stopped at Friendly’s for dinner. Nicky definitely enjoyed the trip to Pine Hill!

Stand Out

On the Sunday of Harvesting, Farmer Clank was out in the fields finding the best crops for his vegetable soup. His daughter and wife were around the corner sewing and stitching dresses for the fancy store on Mulberry Drive. Then, a flock of crows started flying down to the rows of carrots. Farmer Clank was on the other side of the farm so he didn’t see it.

While the crows were grabbing crops, three of the nine birds that went there were laughing at one crow. That crow’s name was Bob. I know that it’s a silly name, but that’s not why they were laughing. They were laughing at his one orange feather. He tried to fit in, but it was just impossible. He even tried to impress all of the other birds but it just didn’t work. So when the farmer noticed this, he came up with a machine. That machine was an invention that could turn regular feathers into orange colored feathers. So he put all of the birds, except Bob, in the machine. Suddenly, they noticed that the feather wasn’t that funny at all! Soon, the birds and Bob became great friends and they found out that Bob was a very nice bird. They learned not to judge a bird by its feathers. And then they had some vegetable soup.

The Journey of the Lost Penguin

One chilly day, a little Penguin named Pete was playing with his friends, Jesse, Alex, and Pablo. They went belly surfing on a very steep glacier near the North Pole. Pete went down first, he slid and slid until nobody could see him. When Pete stopped sliding he found himself in a gigantic cavern in the middle of nowhere! The cold cavern was too dark and too deep to get out. Pete had no food and no water whatsoever.

In about an hour, he began to get scared and miss his family and best friends. When Pete’s friends could not see him, they went back to their penguin village to tell Pete’s parents that they could not find him anywhere. As Pete worried and pondered, his family and friends were contemplating a plan to save him. Pete started wandering around to take a good look at the mystical place he was in. He saw crystals and diamonds and rubies! Pete couldn’t believe his eyes.

Meanwhile, back in the village, Pete’s family and friends slowly retraced Pete’s trail. They noticed some sparkly objects flying out of a hole in the slippery snow. It was Pete throwing the jewels. After he threw the diamonds, rubies, and crystals, they magically transformed into a glistening staircase. Pete was able to climb the stairs out to his family and friends! With the magical jewels, the penguins were able to create an incredible sliding park for everyone to use. Now, the penguins had a safe place to play where no one would get hurt or lost ever again. Pete learned to be more careful in slippery areas and to always know that someone is there to help you.

The Answer To Autumn

Summer comes to a close in September, but have you ever thought about how the leaves change color? How they fall from the wooden branches? Well, the answer may surprise you. Chilly winds whispered through the leaves as autumn fast approached. They tried harder than ever, but the autumn leaves just wouldn’t fall. By the time sparkly snowflakes fell, the leaves rested on the frosty grass. You are probably wondering how the leaves got there. The answer is… Goblins.

Goblins are funny little reptile-like creatures that live in the trunks of trees. They’re very grouchy, and their brains are the size of the nuts they drop on little boys’ heads. So, let me tell you a nice story. One autumn night, a village of Goblins gathered in the center of the tree trunk. King Goblin stood and got the other goblin’s attention.

“Goblins, autumn is here! We must paint the leaves warm colors to make us warmer!” he shouted.

Goblins scrambled in many directions, carrying cans of paint and brushes. They do this because they believe that if they paint the leaves warm colors, they will represent the sun and keep them warm during the chilly winter. All the goblins helped. By morning, every leaf was painted, and everyone slept. After a few days, the Goblins felt no change. In fact, the Goblin Village seemed colder than ever! The Goblin King became very angry. He was so angry, he made the entire Goblin Village move to a new tree. He closed the front door with a THUMP! That night, they painted the leaves, but it did nothing. And every day, they moved into a new tree. After painting every leaf, the King moved the Goblins back to their original tree. He tried to think of another way to become warmer, but nothing came into his tiny brain. So, until spring came, the Goblin Village was chilled to the bone. They shook in the icy weather, and so did the trees and every single leaf fell. So remember to watch out for their “nutty” tricks!

1st Place Author

Samantha Patrick, Age 10, Northside Elementary School, Annville, PA

The Journey of a Snowflake

One day, in the Forest of Heat, a bear named Winter roared and said, “When is there going to be snow? I haven’t hibernated in ten years.” So he did a snow dance. The winter fairies saw that the animals were very upset from the heat. So they worked their magic. They made one little snowflake and she was beautiful. Her name was Emily and she would change the forest.

While she was on her journey, a cloud came up to her and said, “I will make it so misty, you will not find your way to the Forest of Heat.”

“I will see through your mist,” said Emily, as no one knew she carried a magic shield to protect her. Emily and her shield made it through the mist safely.

Then another cloud said, “I will blow you away.” But Emily’s shield protected her.

When she came near the sun, the sun said, “I will surely melt you!” This time the shield started melting. As soon as the shield was gone, Emily had to think fast. She saw her friend, Peggy, the butterfly and told her the plan. Peggy agreed to help and held a big bowl of water really close to a cloud. The sun loved water, so the sun ran towards the cloud. The cloud bumped into the sun and covered it so it could not melt Emily.

Emily made it to the Forest of Heat, just like the fairies told the animals a month earlier. The animals prepared for the snow and as soon as Emily landed on the ground there was snow everywhere. The tired bears finally hibernated, the forest animals played, and everyone was happy; especially Emily.

2nd Place Author

Edward String, Age 9, Sewell Elementary School, Sewell, NJ

The Giant Surprise

One day, Tom saw something in the distance. It was a shadowy figure. At first, it was little, but it started getting bigger and bigger. Then it was right in front of Tom. He was very scared.

“Who are you?” he asked the hairy creature.

“I am a buffalo,” said the creature.

“My name is Tom. What is yours?”

“They call me Giant,” the buffalo answered.

At first, the buffalo didn’t even know what planet he was on and Tom told him that he was on Earth. The buffalo told Tom that his home planet was Neptune. Tom was surprised, but then got a big smile on his face. He told Giant that he had a rocket and he is going to use it to take his lonely, new friend back home.

“It will be an adventure,” said Tom.

The buffalo was very excited. So Tom and his new brown-haired friend climbed aboard the huge space shuttle and blasted into space. When they arrived, it was very quiet because all of the buffalo were asleep. Tom tip-toed to the Giant’s house, quietly opened the door and said, “Good-bye.” And he smiled the whole way back to Earth!

3rd Place Author

Grace Battinelli, Age 9, Woodside Elementary School , River Vale, NJ

My Winter Window

When I look out my winter window I see many things. First, I see people building a snowman. It has a blue scarf on it. I bet it feels as soft as a rabbit. The snowman has sticks for arms. The sticks are big and sharp. I hope it does not melt. Next, I see people sledding. While they are going down the hill they are laughing. They laugh so hard that they fall off the sled. They go fast, their hair was flying. They were sledding on a slippery hill. Then I see people ice skating. While they are ice skating they are twirling. They twirl like angels. Also, while they are twirling, they hold hands. I hear ice scratching while they skate. The noise sounds like breaking glass. Finally, I see people making an igloo. Making an igloo is cold for their hands. It is so cold, I bet they want to have hot chocolate. Making an igloo is such hard work. I love the winter!

1st Place Guest Young Author

Splash! Splash! Isabel was soaking wet and then swam off. She was a beautiful mermaid and when she came home, here friends were waiting for her.

“Why were you on the surface?” they asked. I was picking flowers and Ig the Monster followed me, so I swam away.

She went to the playground with her friends and then everyone went home, When Isabel was almost at her house, Ig ran after her. She swam and swam until she found a sunken ship and hid inside. Then she

When she came home, she told her parents, but they couldn’t think of anything to do, so after school shefound a net and trapped Ig. visited the smartest wizard. The wizard said, “I’ll make a potion, but you’ll have to come back after school tomorrow.”

After school the next day, she went back to the wizard to get the potion and thanked him. The next day was the last day of school and Isabel packed her bags to make Ig good. She said goodbye to her family and began her journey. She had to travel 16 miles to get to Shark’s Cove where Ig lived alone. Soon, she came to a dark forest, but she had to be careful because there were thorns on the trees and it was very dark. Then, she came to a stop at the deep canyon, hoping there was an entrance to the other side. But she came back to the top because there was no entrance. It was a dead end. She called her turtle friends and held onto their backs as they gave the tired mermaid a ride. Finally, she reached Ig’s house, but had to rest.

The next day, Isabel woke up and found herself outside Ig’s house. Luckily he was gone, so she went inside and poured the secret potion on his breakfast.

Later, Ig came home and ate his breakfast, but nothing happened. Isabel thought the potion was a failure, but then his eyes turned from red to blue and his frown turned into a smile. Back in her town, the Governor congratulated her for her success. Isabel got medals and so did Ig! During her speech, she said, “You should give the wizard a medal, too.” So the Governor even gave a medal to the wizard. And, because he turned good, he no longer lived alone and went back to live with his family! Of course, he still remembered to visit Isabel’s family, too!

2nd Place Guest Young Author

One Easter, the Easter Bunny was planning a special gift for all of the kids. He was really excited because every year the kids had Easter clothes, hats, and other accessories. Easter was every kids’ favorite holiday. But when the Easter Bunny saw the kids this year, he was shocked.

He saw the kids with Christmas clothes, hats, and accessories! The Easter Bunny was incredibly sad. He went back to his house to think of a plan that would make him be noticed. Finally, he thought of something that would really work. He put all of his Easter clothes away, bought a Christmas costume, and changed his name to the Christmas Bunny.

Every Christmas, he would give eggs to the kids. If they were bad, they got coal in their eggs. If they were good, they would get a small toy in it…not what they wanted for Christmas. When the kids saw the Christmas Bunny, they complained to him.

“What happened to Easter? Why did you change your name to the Christmas Bunny?” asked the kids.

“Because I saw you kids wearing Christmas things and not Easter things,” said the Bunny in a sad voice.

“We’re sorry,” said the kids. “Are you going to change your name back and host Easter again?”

The Bunny thought about it, and then said, “Yes, I will.” The kids were all happy.

One year later, when it was Easter again, the kids ran up to the Easter Bunny’s door and screamed, “Happy Easter!”

“Thank you for this,” said the happy Bunny.

Then, from that day on, Easter was the way it should be and the Easter Bunny never changed his name again!

3rd Place Guest Young Author

Once there was a ten year old boy named Bobby Christmas. Bobby lived in a town called “Orange Blossom.” He went to school every morning, except weekends. His school was called The Best School Ever, but he didn’t think it was the best school ever because everyone made fun of his last name. One boy, Ray, used to be Bobby’s best friend until everyone made fun of him for hanging out with a kid named Christmas. So, Ray found some new friends and started making fun of Bobby, too, just to be cool. Now, Bobby despised him.

One Wednesday morning, Bobby met a ten year old boy named Jarred Salami. Everyone would make fun of him. But once he found Bobby Christmas, they started talking and soon became friends. They were friends for two whole months when kids started making fun of them for it. The next year, the kids met a girl named Carla Ham. She became the new, funnylast-name kid. She met the boys and they became friends, too.

Year after year, people would find new funny-last-name kids to tease and Bobby Christmas and his friends would always become friends with them. Now, Bobby is treated equally by the other students, or at least the ones with funny-last-names!

She says that she loves me and gives me a kiss, but when I turn around, she gives me her fist. She has a temper the color of her red hair and sometimes it even makes me a little scared.

When the Red Headed Monster runs and screams, I wish to myself it was only a dream. If you have a little sister, you know what I mean!

2nd Place Guest Young Author

Ethan Wood, Age 9, Nye Elementary School, Hummelstwon, Pennsylvania

Why Jack Rabbits Have Big Ears

A long time ago, there was a jack rabbit named Jumper. One dry day in Australia, Jumper saw a turtle with a huge shell. Jumper started to pick on him because of the size of his shell. Turtle felt very sad. Jumper said, “Your shell is as big as a turkey. Turtle felt so miserable, that he went to the wise man for help. So the wise man followed turtle home to catch Jumper making fun of him. Well, the jack rabbit named Jumper began picking on turtle as soon as he saw him. The wise man, who was hiding, heard Jumper and cast a spell upon him. The spell made his ears bigger to see what it would be like to be different. And that is why jack rabbits have big ears. The moral of this story is to never tease others if they look different. It’s what’s on the inside that counts. said, “Yes, I will.” The kids were all happy.

3rd Place Guest Young Author

There once was a poor old lady of Liger,
who spent all her money on her pet tiger.
Suddenly, the tiger got fat and started to wear an old ladies hat.
No one knows what happened to the poor old lady of Liger.
So what did happen to the poor old lady of Liger?
She was swallowed up by her pet tiger.
He had nothing to eat,
so he gobbled up her feet.
Then he swallowed the rest of that poor old lady of Liger.
The tiger then ate a kangaroo,
so he was sent off to the zoo.
The zookeeper there was Mr. Thump,
who was really very plump.
So the tiger swallowed him up, too.
So my friend, never spend money on a tiger
because of what happened to that poor old lady of Liger.
By Miss Shbiger, a girl of the village of Liger,
who knew that poor old lady and, of course her tiger.